KOCHI: Over 50 families residing on both sides of Kaniyampuzha road leading from Vyttila Mobility Hub to Eroor continue to live in miserable conditions at Mathoor due to waterlogging which has even stalled the traffic on the road several times. The affected includes 25 families of Tagore Nagar Colony at Eroor North. The waterlogging continues long after the rain has receded as there is no scientific mechanism to drain out the water. "In fact we have been fighting this menace for the past decade succeeding at times and then again suffering setbacks. The authorities including the Tripunithura Municipality and PWD have failed to settle it forever. Prior to 2006 water flowed out from the colony and nearby areas to the canal that is situated west of Manjeril road," said Mr N C Unnikrishnan, secretary, Tagore Nagar Residents Association.
He said that this water further flowed through the big pipe that ran under the culvert situated across the Kaniyampuzha Road and emptied to the canal near the Durga Talkies in the area. "The issue arose in 2006 when the big pipe that ran under the culvert was blocked leading to flooding of the Manjeril road and the colony," said Mr Unnikrishnan. "First it was solved for a while in 2007 when the Ombudsman for Local Bodies intervened and the PWD removed the block in the pipe. However it was again blocked after two years and we approached the municipality. Following the intervention of the then councilor a smaller pipe was introduced inside it," he said.
Mr Unnikrishnan said that all these measures have now come to a naught with the area abutting Kaniyampuzha road to where the water was being emptied being filled with sand. This has led to blocking of the flow of water below the culvert, leading to the flooding of the area near Manjeril road. "We have now requested the PWD to build a drainage south of Kaniyampuzha road from Manjeril canal or north of Kaniyampuzha road to solve the issue since Municipality has said it cannot build the drainage since Kaniyampuzha road is owned by PWD. We are living in absolute misery wading through knee-deep water. Even MLA M Swaraj and Municipal authorities visited the place but relief is yet to come," Mr Unnikrishnan said.
